Indians Prospect Insider

The Indians battled on Sunday and actually played one of their better games offensively in awhile, but it was not enough as Justin Mourneau deposited a Vinnie Pestano pitch into the seats in the bottom of the ninth inning for an 8-7 walkoff victory for the Twins. Kevin Dean shares his thoughts on Sunday's game and more...

What a night for the Indians' organization. The Akron Aeros won their game and series, and will head to the Eastern League Championship game on Tuesday against Trenton. Lake County won their game to tie their series at one, with the elimination game set for Monday night at Classic Park. While the Tribe is laying an egg, their future isn't. Take a look at what this organization has to offer...after the jump...

Bryson Myles had three hits and Jordan Smith knocked in a pair as The Lake County Captains defeated the Fort Wayne Tincaps by a final of 7-4 at Classic Park. Lake County scored five times in the second inning. Jose Ramirez singled to give the Captains a 3-1 lead. Later in the inning, Jordan Smith lined a triple down the right field and two runners scored and the lead was 5-1. Lake County evens the Eastern Division Championship Series at one game apiece.

In his weekly Indians notebook, Tony provides an update on the return of Carlos Carrasco, how he has looked, and what the plan may be for him next year. He also chimes in with his thoughts on the recent callups from the minors and makes sense of the players that were called up and those that were not, he talks about Chris Perez being out of line, he looks at the underwhelming season of Casey Kotchman, and more.

You have to love the smell of playoff baseball, don't you? The Akron Aeros went down 2-0, but their "Never-Say-Die" mentality continued, as they tied the series at two games apiece, and head to their round one elimination game on Sunday at 6:00. Lake County, who swept their first series, lost game one of round two, and head to their first must-win game of the playoffs, also at 6:00. Who topped ATF? How about the best player in the system...

The Indians offense could not get anything rolling on Saturday as the Tribe was held in check by Minnesota and Twins starter Cole De Vires, getting shutout 3-0. The loss puts Cleveland at a season low 21 games below the .500 mark. Cleveland starter Zach McAllister struggled for his third straight outing, going just three innings giving up two earned runs on three hits.

Yeison Asencio had two RBI's and the go-ahead single in the eighth inning as The Fort Wayne Tincaps defeated the Lake County Captains 4-3 in Parkview Field. Travis Jankowski led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a double to left field and then was sacrificed to third base. With the runner on third and one out, Asencio singled home the winning run.

Akron catcher Roberto Perez drove in the go-ahead run with sacrifice fly in the seventh inning to give the Aeros a 2-1 victory over Bowie, tying the playoff series at two games apiece Saturday night at Canal Park. The Aeros (82-59, 2-2) will play in their third must-win game in a row on Sunday in order to advance to the finals.

With the season thankfully winding down, Chris Perez slammed both the owners and the GM for their lack of movement when the team really needed it. In doing so, he compared the Indians situation to the Tigers. Are they really similar, and should they really be compared? Jim Pete takes a quick look at both Perez, Detroit and Cleveland, and where the failings really are...after the jump...

The Lake County Captains have moved on to the next round of the Midwest League playoffs, and one of the key members of the bullpen right-hander Cody Penny recently sat down with the IPI's Stephanie Metzger to talk about his first pro season, his goals, his stuff, and the playoff run.

It may have very well been the battle for last place, but there was certainly a nail biter of a finish as the Indians edged out their Central Division rival Twins Friday night, 7-6. The Tribe would collect a dozen hits in the ballgame and already pick up their fourth win in September.

IndiansProspectInsider.com is introducing a brand new show on the cyberwaves tonight, from 10:30-11:30. While the show will still discuss the Indians, it will also shine a focus on the Browns and the Cavaliers. Tonight, Jim Pete and Steve Orbanek will preview the Browns 2012 season, whether Dion Waiters was the draft pick, and whether the Indians have any questions to answer over the next month with the recent call-ups.

With Lake County already advancing in the playoffs, the Akron Aeros were the lone Indians affiliate in action Friday night. With the Aeros potentially facing elimination, the team desperately needed someone to step up. Thankfully that's exactly what they got in the form of Danny Salazar. Read all about it in Steve Orbanek Akron Aeros playoff edition of Around the Farm.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers season has come to a close and site columnist Andrew Zajac recaps the season that was. He hands out some hardware for hitter, starter, and reliever of the year, looks at the stats, and projects the top prospects of this team going forward.

The minor league season may be over, but there is no end in sight for Minor Happenings or the minor league coverage here on the IPI. In this week’s Minor Happenings, Tony takes a look at the emergence of Low-A Lake County second baseman Jose Ramirez and what kind of prospect he really is, the strong finish from Lake County catcher Jake Lowery, and the good year but unfortunate injury to short season Single-A Mahoning Valley lefty Geoff Davenport. As always, he has lots of quotes on players like Matt Langwell, Carlos Moncrief, Matt Packer and others provided by the front office, and lots more.

While many people view the Indians situation at the moment as a complete train wreck, Adam McGavin tries to look past the darkness and find some light to shine on a bleak situation. In his first part of a two-part article, he says that any positive vibe should start with a strong group of players up the middle of the diamond and some key trade pieces that could bring in a few players that could help now and in the future.

The Akron Aeros fell to a 2-0 series deficit against the Bowie Baysox in a 7-5 loss on Thursday as the Aeros couldn’t overcome the Baysox two-run eighth inning. Lefty T.J. House (10-5, 3.56) received the nod to start for the Aeros against Bowie right-hander Mike Wright (10-5, 4.06).

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!